About 50 years ago, a psychologist named Walter Mischel at Stanford University devised the Stanford marshmallow experiment to study willpower and delayed gratification in kids and how that translates into "success" as they get older. While the findings of the experiment and study aren't universally accepted, his experiment still stands as one of the most significant in modern psychology.
While our Marshmallow Test video is definitely more illustrative than scientific, we thought it'd be fun to reach out to a few of the kids to see how they're doing today—a decade (and 9 million YouTube views) later.
Duncan & Drew K.
The fidgety twins are now juniors in high school, and are both actively involved in sports and their church in Waco, TX.
Rhett R.
Little Rhett tried really hard—but couldn't help taking a little nibble. He's a junior in high school who enjoys competing athletically and academically.
Audrey H.
Audrey is starting her first year of high school. She loves books, theater, and her awesome weirdo friends. She still does not regret eating that marshmallow.
Cole H.
Cole is now a 16-year-old high school student with a part-time job, wishing his parents would have negotiated a pay-per-play contract for his appearance in The Marshmallow Test.
Hudson M.
Hudson is now 17-years-old and enjoys hanging out with his buddies as a junior in high school. If he's honest, he never really did—and still doesn't—like marshmallows.
If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to watch here or above—and use it as an illustration the next time you talk about discipline, sin, or temptation. Plus, you can download it and a bunch of other stuff for free when you sign up for a free trial.
